Archive By Section - Movie reviews

Theaters should hand out oxygen masks when moviegoers buy tickets to "Gravity." Director Alfonso Cuarón's science-fiction thriller is many things, but above all else, it is one of the most suspenseful films released in years.

Ah, the fall season has finally arrived. I make no secret of nor apology for my disdain of the summer season. Even when it's a strong lineup of blockbusters, it's a deafening, dumbing few months. And this was a horrible summer season. There's nowhere to go but up for the fall season. Here's a rundown of the more promising films coming our way.

Athens native James Ponsoldt's "The Spectacular Now" is a bona fide festival circuit and art house hit that is now widening into multiplexes in our area. This is the moment when the film either breaks into mainstream success or doesn't, and few indies are more deserving of reaching a wider audience.

The new biopic "Jobs" is a solidly informative and entertaining "Brief History of Apple," as seen through the eyes of its co-founding genius. We experience 30 years of Steve Jobs' mercurial life and times, with plenty of tastes - but only tastes - of triumph plus a few dashes of comeuppance.

Talking with James Ponsoldt makes you excited about movies. The Athens filmmaker has an extensive knowledge of film history and an infectious enthusiasm for his art. Even when diagnosing some of Hollywood's problems, he speaks with optimism and excitement.

Neill Blomkamp may be well on his way to becoming the only sci-fi writer-director who matters. And if "Elysium" is more an evolutionary leap than a revolutionary one from his break-out hit "District 9," it still shows him in great form telling a story from the future ripped from today's political hot-button issues.